The Valiant Phoenix
by deadinthevoid
Summary: A firebender breaks off from the fire nation of his own free will. Will his nation's intentions corrupt him or will he find his own path.
1. Resting in the Flames

Resting in the Flames

At the fire nation, a young man with black hair, blue eyes, and fire nation clothing gets up as a knock is heard outside his door. He gets his armor on and approaches the door. He opens the door sleepily and looks at the man in fire nation armor on the other side. "Yes, what is it?" The young man asks sleepily, rubbing his eyes before yawning. "Commander Xiong, we've been assigned to take Kyoshi Island." The soldier says apologetically for waking him up. "Okay, have you already informed the rest of the men Chang?" Xiong says waking up at the sound of the orders. "Yes, you say to wake you up last so that you can think properly. You haven't failed us yet, but Fire Lord Ozai says this will be our hardest task and you should know that failure is unacceptable." Chang says nodding his head. "I cannot guarantee him victory, but I can guarantee him that I will make it known that no place is safe from the fire nation." Xiong says. "Agreed sir." Chang says as he and Xiong head toward the fire nation boat.

Once they arrive at the boat, all the men near the boat stand up and salute Xiong. "You guys don't have to salute me. We are brothers and we'll always do what is best for each other." Xiong says a bit embarrassed. The men relax. "Sir, we are ready to depart for Kyoshi Island." One soldier said. "Good, let's get this over with so we can get our rewards, what do you say guys?" Xiong says energetically, raising his fist into the air. The men all cheer energetically before Xiong and his men all run toward the boat. The boat sends out several whistles before departing. Xiong heads straight toward his room. He enters his room and sits down in front of two pictures. "Mother. Father. I promise to make the two of you proud. What General Iroh said to me before he left the Fire Nation troubles me." Xiong says toward the pictures.

The scene changes back onto the docks at the fire nation. Xiong is standing in front of Iroh. "General Iroh, what are you saying?" Xiong says surprised for some reason. "I'm saying that my destiny is at Ba Sing Se. Your destiny isn't what you believe it to be, but if you keep your mind and heart open, your destiny will reward you." Iroh says before passing Xiong. Xiong turns around to face Iroh. "Iroh, I don't know what you mean. My destiny is to serve the fire nation til it unites the world or until I meet the same fate as my parents." Xiong says as he watches Iroh walks away.

The scene returns to his boat. Xiong is still daydreaming about that day when a knock on his door snaps him back to reality. Xiong shakes his head and gets up. He turns toward the door and walks toward it. He opens up the door. "Sir, the avatar has just been seen flying away from Kyoshi Island. Should we follow him?" The soldier says. "No Ling. The avatar is Zuko's destiny, he'll catch him eventually. Keep on course for Kyoshi Island." Xiong says shaking his head. "Aye aye sir. You ready to take command or do you need more time?" Ling says looking at the pictures. Xiong looks under his shoulder to look at the pictures. "I'm fine, thank you for your concern though." Xiong says as he walks toward the bridge, Ling moves to the side to allow him to pass.

At the bridge, all the men are hyped up and ready to fight. "We ready to go men?" Xiong says pumping his fist into the air. "YEAH!" The men yell together. "Alright men, let's help fire lord Ozai." Xiong says as the boat pulls up on the shore of Kyoshi Island. Once the boat's on the shore, all the men and Xiong run off. "Okay men, this will be simple. Draw out the Kyoshi warriors and defeat them, once they are out of the way, the island will surrender." Xiong says with his back toward the majority of the island. "Sir." One soldier says pointing behind Xiong. "I was hoping for this to be a surprise, but I take it the smoke gave us away." Xiong says after turning around before sighing. "Pretty much, the avatar isn't here." Suki says in front of the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors. "I know, I saw him flee, he's not my target, this island is." Xiong says with his men in battle stance. "You won't take this island." Suki says before the Kyoshi warriors cheer. "We should have this elsewhere, this land doesn't give us that much room without hitting each other." Xiong says concerned for his men. "Agreed, we'll take this to the forest." Suki says as she and the warriors lead Xiong and his men to the forest.

Once they arrive at the forest. "You going to give up?" Xiong says despite he already knows the answer. "I was going to ask you the same thing." Suki says surprised, but just as determined. "Fine. Men, you deal with the warriors, I'll take on the leader." Xiong says and his men nod their heads in agreement. "I have a name fire nation follower, it's Suki. Warriors, leave the commander to me." Suki says introducing herself to Xiong. "I have a name myself. It's Xiong." Xiong says introducing himself to Suki.

Xiong's men and the Kyoshi warriors fight as Xiong and Suki face each other. Xiong sends three fireballs toward Suki. Suki bats the first two into the air using her fans and avoids the third one by rolling to the side. Suki throws her fan at Xiong. Xiong jumps into the air and kicks her fan to the side and it gets stuck in a tree. Xiong sends a wave of flames at Suki. Suki runs and jumps over the wave of flames. She lands on the ground and skids toward her fan. She grabs her fan from the tree. Xiong turns to face Suki and sees that two of his men are knocked out. "This...this can't be happening." Xiong says surprised and slightly scared. "Must be your first time on the war front. Now you see what happens in war and what it costs." Suki says concerned but still on guard. "I know what it costs, I lost my parents in the war." Xiong says closing his eyes before abruptly opening them.

Xiong sends a pulse of flame at Suki before jumping into the air, sending four fireballs at her. Suki avoids the pulse and three of the fire balls, but she gets hit by the last one and gets knocked back. "I'll show you why I'm called the young phoenix." Xiong says energetically. "You are skilled, but I can't say the same about your allies." Suki says as she points her fans to the side. Xiong looks to the side and sees half his men are knocked out. He turns back to Suki and sends seven fire balls toward her followed by a flame wave. Suki bats the fireballs to her sides and jumps over the wall and sends both of hers fands at Xiong. Xiong knocks the first fan to the side and it gets stuck in the ground. The second fan hits his face and he gets knocked back, sliding several inches before stopping. He looks up with a slash mark over his left eye.

Xiong looks around and sees that he's the only person in his group who's not knocked out. "I'll make you a deal. If I win our showdown, you'll leave the fire nation." Suki says concerned. "And if I win, you'll have this island surrender?" Xiong says relaxing for a while. "Sounds good to me." Suki says letting down her guard. "Same here." Xiong says agreeing to the wager. Suki and Xiong look at each other before Xiong sends a trio of waves at Suki. Suki slides under the first one which was a high wave. She jumps over the second one which was a low wave and creates a hole inside the third wave which was too high to jump over but too low to crouch under.

Suki rushes toward Xiong and swipes her fans at Xiong. Xiong blocks both fans with his arms. Xiong and Suki look at each other before the both jump back away from each other. Xiong sends a pair of flame whips at Suki. Suki jumps over both of them at once and sends one fan at Xiong. Xiong jumps over the fan and slams it into the ground before landing on top of it. He looks up and sees Suki fly kicking toward him. He gets hit in the chest and goes flying into a tree. He falls to the ground and tries to get up, but doesn't have enough strength. "Looks like I won." Suki says smiling, happy with her victory. Xiong laughs for a while. "Looks like you have. I am a person of my word. Can I just asked for your help to get my men back aboard my ship? After they are all on, I'll allow your comrades to exit the ship before I depart." Xiong says looking around at his men.

Suki puts her right hand under her chin thinking it over for a while. "Sure, I don't trust you, but you care for your men unlike most fire nation soldiers I know." Suki says as the warriors carries Xiong's men on their shoulders. "They aren't my men. They are my brothers, and I don't leave my family behind." Xiong says as he walks back toward his ship. After several minutes, all of Xiong's men are on the ship and the last warrior exits the ship. Xiong and Suki stand, facing each other, Suki on the beach, Xiong on the retractable door of the ship. "If you weren't fire nation, we could've been friends." Suki says disappointed and slightly saddened. "We'll still be friends, I'll leave the fire nation. Just feel bad for my men." Xiong says looking at his men, who are all still unconscious, some moving though. "I'll be glad when we are friends. See you soon... as allies." Suki says as the retractable door begins to retract. "We'll meet again." Xiong says as the door closes. Suki and the Kyoshi warriors head back to the town as the ship turns around and heads back to the fire nation.

On the way back to the ship, Xiong looks at the sea as he hears a voice. "Commander?" A voice says from behind Xiong. Xiong turns around and sees that all of his men are now awake. "Yes, what is it you guys?" Xiong says as he walks over to his men. "What's going to happen now?" Chang says worriedly. "I am sticking to my word... I am leaving the fire nation." Xiong says depressed. His men are all shocked by the news. "Why would you do that? You said that it's your destiny to unite the land." Ling says surprised. "I will. What we are doing isn't unity, but conquest. I'll be denouncing the war to officially make it known I'm no longer with the fire nation. When I do that, I want you all to attack me." Xiong says looking at the ceiling. "Commander, we can't do that. We've been through too much just to throw it all away in an instance." A soldier says. "Li, I know, but I'd rather go down by myself, than to take you all down with me." Xiong says shaking his head. "Commander, if only the fire nation was led by you at times." Li says looking at the floor. "Nothing, we can do about it now. Let's drink one last time as allies, alright men." Xiong says as he holds up a glass. The men all raise their glasses and drink one final time.

Once the ship arrives back at the fire nation dock, Xiong and his men head to the center of the fire nation. A speaker is standing in front of a crowd of fire nation civilians, saying about how they will win the war. The civilians are all sitting down. Xiong and his men stand on the outside of the crowd and sit down. "We will win this war and the world will be united under our wonderful fire lord Ozai." The speaker says inspiring the crowd. Xiong stands up, making himself stand out in the crowd. "Commander, are you sure about this?" Li says looking up at Xiong. "I have a promise to keep. Just be ready to attack me." Xiong says looking back at Li, a new spark in his eyes. "Okay commander." Li says admiring the spark. "I only hate seeing how Ty Lee will react to the news." Xiong says looking at the sky. "The guys and I knew you had someone you had feelings for, we just didn't know who." Li says victoriously. "Oh, be quiet." Xiong says his face blushing. "Okay commander." Li says chuckling, never seeing his commander's face so red before.

"This isn't unity, this is conquest." Xiong says surprising the civilians and they all look at him. "Young phoenix, why are you going against what you once stood for unwaveringly?" The speaker says looking at Xiong. "Unity doesn't involve taking another's life or destroying another's land. That is conquest." Xiong says still proud of his decision. "They won't see things our way." The speaker says continuing his pointless task of trying to convince Xiong. "Unity does come with disagreements, but compromise is the point of unity, not forcing others to see our way." Xiong says still standing strong. "YOU AREN'T OUR COMMANDER!" Ling yells as he and the rest of Xiong's men get up and fire bend toward Xiong. Xiong moves gracefully among the flames and when the smoke clears, Xiong is gone. "Find that traitor." Chang says as Xiong's men looks around in an organized fashion, looking around for Xiong. "It's good to see you aren't following your commander's path. You are all true members of the fire nation. You will be reassigned to Zhao's group to find the avatar and hopefully the exiled prince Zuko." The speaker says before he sends a messenger hawk to the fire nation capital.

"Your ex-captain is now a traitor to the fire nation." The speaker says frowning.

Xiong runs into the wood with several bags of food on his back. "This will hold me out until the fire nation festival." Xiong says as he runs to a shack. "Good thing I set this up as a private sanctuary. Not even the guys know about this." Xiong says as he runs into the shack. He sets up a hammock for himself and three other hammocks for the food he bought. "Now that I have sometime to think to myself, I can really see what General Iroh said when he left. My job is to unite the land, but not under the banner of the fire nation, but as the avatar's firebending teacher." Xiong says as he relaxes in his hammock. He falls asleep after several minutes.


	2. Journey Through Lava

Journey Through Lava

Xiong has been in his shack for three weeks, only leaving to take baths in a river that runs close by. He gets up and gets out of his hammock stretching. "Today's the fire nation festival, I can get some food since everyone there will be wearing masks." Xiong says pulling out a mask from last year's festival. He puts on a black cloak that covers the majority of his body before putting on the mask. He slowly opens the cloth that acts as a door and looks around, the coast is clear. Xiong slowly exits the shack and walks toward the fire nation capital.

He goes over to the store and buy several articles of food. "Hey there stranger. Nice festival this year, ain't it?" The clerk says joyfully toward Xiong. "A marvelous festival, it'll be hard to match this one next year." Xiong says with his voice deeper than his actual voice. "Precisely but the fire nation never ceases to amaze me." The clerk says giving Xiong his groceries. "Thank you ma'am." Xiong says taking the groceries. "My pleasure, come again." The clerk says smiling and nodding her head. Xiong heads back to the shack and sets his groceries down on floor in a corner.

He relaxes and later heads back to the festival. He sees Aang, Katara and Sokka at the wanted board but just thinks of them as other festival goers. He walks up towards them, unseen by any of them. He walks up behind Katara and sees she's reading through his wanted poster that has been stuck to the back of Aang's. "So, you are going to try and take on the Young Phoenix?" Xiong says to the group still hidden from view. Xiong spooks the group and they all nearly use their bending or weapon. Xiong catches sight of the arrow on Aang's head and realizes that he's the avatar. "Whoa, slow down, didn't mean to spook you, was just asking a question." Xiong says with his hands back in a defensive pose. "Oh, no, we are just looking at it." Katara says handing the papers to Xiong. "The avatar and the young phoenix. If the avatar wanted a fire bending teacher, the young phoenix would be one of the best, but he wouldn't be the best." Xiong says looking at the papers. "Yeah, it could spell trouble for us." Sokka says trying to stay undercover.

"Nothing gets by your friend. We can talk more about how bad the two of them meeting would be for us in my house. It's not far from here, you three can find me when you are done at the festival near the gates to the capital." Xiong says invitingly toward the three of them. "Well, I've always been really smart and sure why not." Sokka says without consulting Aang or Katara. "It's a deal." Xiong says as he heads over to the gate and relaxes. "Sokka, why did you do that, he could just be drawing us into a trap?" Katara says upset with Sokka. "If he meant us harm, I would've felt it." Sokka says as he slaps the board and gets a splinter. "Just like you felt that?" Katara says unimpressed. "Let's give him a chance, he seems like a nice guy." Aang says still being childish. "Alright Aang, we'll give him a chance." Katara says admitting to the decision.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka enjoy themselves at the fire nation festival. Sokka buys some fire flakes and tries them out, discovering them to be hot. They watch a firebending magician. They watch a puppet show about the fire nation winning the war to some kids. After all the excitement, they meet with Xiong at the gates. "You sure you want to leave just now?" Xiong says calmly. Aang looks at Katara and Sokka and they both nod their heads yes. "Yeah, we had enough excitement for one day." Aang says joyfully. "Alright then, follow me." Xiong says as he leads the group to his shack. They follow Xiong still wary of what might happen.

Once they arrive at Xiong's shack, he invites them in. Katara goes in first, followed by Aang and finally Sokka. Xiong looks around and enters shortly afterwards. "Why did you invite us over here?" Katara says warily. "Allow me to take off this cloak and mask, it should answer your question." Xiong says as he takes off his cloak and his mask, revealing his face. "Wait, you're the young phoenix?" Katara says surprised. "Yes, and I discovered that you are the avatar and his friends when I scared you all. Don't worry, I'm a traitor so turning you all in will not help either of us." Xiong says cooking some food. "Good, now we know that we don't have to worry about an ambush. Why did you invite us over here? You still haven't answered that." Katara says relaxed now.

"Simple, the avatar probably needs a firebending teacher, and who would be better than someone who doesn't work for the fire nation?" Xiong says offer a vast feast to the group. The group accepts and starts eating. "Sure, I was hoping to find a firebending teacher here who wouldn't turn me in. It worked out very well." Aang says before he and Sokka eat like they haven't eaten before. Katara eats slowly and sophisticatedly. Aang and Sokka reach for seconds. "We can start next morning with the basics." Xiong says eating as well. Katara finishes her plate.

"You want more miss?" Xiong says looking at Katara about to pick up a piece of food. "Oh, we should probably introduce ourselves. I am Katara. Aang is the avatar, he's the one with the arrow on his head. Sokka's the one who's eating like a ravenous wolf." Katara says introducing the group to Xiong while she sets down her plate on the floor. "I am Xiong, also known as the young phoenix. Nice to meet you all. You sure you don't want more?" Xiong says introducing himself to the group. "Yes, I'm fine. If he's going to begin firebending training in this morning, the avatar's going to need his strength, isn't that right Aang?" Katara says looking toward Aang, who's about to reach for thirds.

Aang's face changes from childish and joyful to mature and serious. "That's correct Katara. Thank you for the meal Xiong. Is there any place for us to rest?" Aang says bummed about not eating more. "Yeah, I have several hammocks, I had used them the previous nights to hold my food. Feel free to use them to rest." Xiong says motioning toward the hammocks. "Thank you." Katara says as she takes a top hammock, Aang takes the hammock under her and Sokka takes a lone hammock. Xiong puts out the fire and goes into the hammock beneath Aang and falls asleep.


	3. The Phoenix Takes Flight

The Phoenix Takes Flight

During the night, Aang and the gang sleeps, but Xiong hears something and wakes up. He heads over to the door and peeks outside. He sees rustling in the woods and is surprised. He rushes over and wraps up several days worth of food in bundles of cloth. He rushes over to the gang and wakes them up one by one. Aang, Katara, and Sokka yawn and stretch. "We going to begin our training now Xiong?" Aang says sleepily with his left eye still closed. "We won't be able to train together. The fire nation has discovered this shack and are on their way here to take me and you all. They'll be here in 10 minutes. I'm giving you all the food I bought, it should help keep your strength up." Xiong say each of them two clothes filled with food. "What about you Xiong?" Katara says concerned. "I'll be fine, they'll take me to their highest security prison, but I won't go without a fight, besides, I need to hold them back from following you." Xiong says determined. "Will we ever see you again?" Aang says depressed at the thought of leaving one if not his only chance of learning firebending from a friendly firebender.

"We'll meet again Aang. Behind this shack a couple hundred yards into the forest lies Jiang Jong, another person who left the fire nation. His methods are stricter than mine. It was nice meeting you all." Xiong says as he heads out of the shack. Aang, Katara, and Sokka take the food packages and run behind the shack. Katara "It was nice meeting you Xiong." Katara calls out to Xiong as the wind blows, moving their hair, giving her a feeling that something bad's going to happen. Katara turns back around and resumes running with Aang and Sokka. Xiong turns to face the direction the three of them are running in, but he turns his attention back to the forest as one dozen firebenders emerge from the forest all in battle pose. "Where's the avatar fallen phoenix?" One firebender says. "I am the young phoenix, not the fallen phoenix. Also, the avatar was never hear. It was just me." Xiong says displeased with the title. "Doesn't matter, you are under arrest." Another firebender says. "Try and take me in. I'll show you why I am the second best firebender of the new generation." Xiong says as he gets into battle pose.

The firebenders are shoot fire at Xiong. Xiong jumps into the air and shoots a ring of fire in the air. Three of the fire benders get hit and knocked into trees, falling to the ground unconscious. The remaining nine shoot several fireballs at Xiong after he lands. Xiong sends out a wave of flame that destroys all the fireballs and still heads toward the firebenders. Two firebenders roll and hit each other, knocking each other out. The remaining seven use various moves toward Xiong. Xiong blocks several of the attacks, but gets knocked back by a fireball. Xiong sends several fire waves then jumps in the air shooting fireballs at all seven of the firebenders. Five of the firebenders are knocked out by the moves while the remaining two avoid the strikes. The remaining two have a showdown with Xiong. Xiong quickly fires several fireballs followed by a pair of waves at the pair. One of the remaining two gets knocked out by a fireball, the other one gets knocked out by a wave after avoiding the fireballs. Xiong looks around and sees a messenger hawk flying over the area.

Xiong holds his arm out and the hawk lands on his arm. Xiong gives the hawk some food while he pulls out the message and reads it. "Soldiers, when you have captured the phoenix, meet me back at the shore where we are docked at. Signed Admiral Zhao." Xiong says reading the paper out loud. "Aye aye sir. He put up a fierce fight, but we managed to subdue him, we'll be moving to the shore asap so we can continue on with our next objective." Xiong says making a rather elegant x that can stick out anywhere. Xiong puts the message into the container on the messenger hawk's back and has it fly back to Zhao. Xiong instantly recognizes the spot that Zhao is talking about and walks toward it.

Xiong takes several breaks and roughly three fourths of the way to the shore, he takes a break and rests for the night. The next morning, Xiong wakes up and keeps walking through the forest. As he gets closer to the shore he begins to hear voices. "You thought you had me by making me destroy my own boats, but I have you now avatar." A voice that Xiong instantly recognizes as Zhao's. "This isn't good." Aang says beyond the trees. Xiong climbs up a tree right on the borderline of the shoreline and the forest. He then runs up and jumps out of the tree. While in midair, Xiong knocks out the firebenders behind Aang. "Who did that?" Zhao says angrily. "I did that." Xiong says as he lands in front of Aang. "Xiong, what are you doing here?" Aang says surprised by Xiong's appearance. "Coming to where he said he would be coming." Zhao says as he takes out the paper. "How did you know that was me?" Xiong says surprised by the fact he's been discovered. "You are the only one that I know who makes your x like that. Anyways, the fire lord will be pleased that I captured the traitor and the avatar." Zhao says pleased with the turn of events. "No, you won't have the avatar. Aang run." Xiong says defiantly. "What about you?" Aang says concerned.

"The world needs the avatar." Xiong says. "The world needs firebenders like you." Aang replies upset. "End this conquest and they'll be more of us. Now go." Xiong says still facing Zhao. Aang runs away from Zhao into the forest. "You're not going anywhere avatar. Soldiers attack." Zhao says before giving an order to the soldiers. The soldiers get ready to attack, but Xiong stops them by shooting fireballs at all of them. Once Aang is out of his sight, Xiong surrenders himself. "You are going to the boiling rock." Zhao says proud with this victory, but upset about losing the avatar. "Tell me something I don't know." Xiong says undeterred by meeting Zhao. "You are never getting off of the boiling rock." Zhao says angrily but stills victorious. "I know that already, can someone just take me there, talking with Zhao is bad enough as it is." Xiong says grinning. Zhao scowls. "We'll see how funny you think you are when you get to the boiling rock. Get a boat repaired, and take him away when ready to depart." Zhao says angrily. "Aye aye sir." The soldiers say as Zhao keeps Xiong from attacking him or trying to escape.


	4. The Caged Phoenix

The Caged Phoenix

The gondola starts moving toward the boiling rock. Xiong looks around the area freely, as he is the only prisoner on the gondola. He sees the boiling lake the prison is known for. He sees that the gondola that is the only escape at first glance. He sees the coolers that lie on each side of the prison. During his gazing around the prison, the gondola arrives at the prisoner drop off point. The two guards near the front of the gondola open the doors and walk outside. The two guards in the back head up to Xiong and push him forward. "Okay, okay, I'm moving." Xiong says as he turns to face the two guards that left the gondola and walks until he's directly behind both of them. The guards walk with Xiong, making sure he doesn't try to escape. The gondola starts moving back toward the only exit from the prison. The guards remain behind Xiong as the warden walks up.

"Welcome to the boiling rock. The most secure prison in the world. No prisoner has ever escaped from it, and I'd rather jump into the boiling lake myself than let that record fall during my time as warden." The warden says as Xiong looks at him. "At least this is better than listening to Zhao all day." Xiong says relaxing. "That's what you believe. As long as you follows orders, you'll find your time her at the boiling rock to be at least slightly enjoyable. Take him to his cell." The warden replies before he heads off. The guards lead Xiong to his cell.

"Enjoy your new home." The guard says as all four guards laugh. Xiong walks into his cell and the guard closes the door. "Is this where it all ends for me? Avatar, please end this war how it should end. I have yet to tell Ty Lee how I feel." Xiong says looking at the ceiling. Xiong looks over at his bed and heads over to it. He lays down on his eyes and falls asleep.

Several minutes later, a knock is heard on his door. Xiong wakes up and sits up on his bed. A guard opens the door. "Time for you to meet your new friends and enjoy some fresh air." The guard says as Xiong walks outside of his cell. Another guard closes the door behind Xiong. The guard leads Xiong to an open area of the prison. Once Xiong is outside, the guards head back up stairs to watch over the prisoners.

Xiong looks around. He sees several prisoners fighting with guards, some prisoners are fighting with each other, and a small portion of the prisoners are playing sports. Xiong walks over to a wall and sits on a bench. "You must really be formidable if you are the only prisoner on a gondola. Normally it's packed with new guys when it comes over here." An unknown voice says to Xiong. Xiong looks over in the direction of the voice and sees Chit Sang looking at him. "I am the second best fire bender of my generation." Xiong says relaxing on the wall. "Wow, that's really something. Why are you here though?" Chit Sang says sitting down next to Xiong. "Publicly showed my dissent towards the war. Had the men that were under my command attack me so they wouldn't fall with me." Xiong says before looking at Chit Sang. "Wow, you have guts. I like you. When the opportunity arises, we'll break out of here together." Chit Sang says holding out his hand toward Xiong. "Yep, we'll get out of here yet. Why are you here?" Xiong says shaking Chit Sang's hand. "I got accused of something I didn't do and I was sent here." Chit Sang says exaggerating the situation.

"That really stings. I should introduce myself. I'm the young phoenix, Xiong." Xiong says getting up. "The name's Chit Sang." Chit Sang says getting up.

The next several days, Xiong and Chit Sang think of several different ideas of how to escape from the boiling rock, all of them revolving around the gondola, all of them also being shot down by the fact that the Warden would probably just cut the rope if they tried to use the gondola to escape. As the days passed, Xiong and Chit Sang began to lose hope of escape and began to talk instead of what they were doing before getting sent to the boiling rock.

"So, you battled the Kyoshi Warriors and later met the avatar. Seems like quite the life." Chit Sang says impressed and slightly to moderately jealous. "Yeah, I don't want the rest of my days to be spent in here. I just hope to meet either Suki or Aang again." Xiong says depressed. "You'll most likely meet this Suki chick again. Some of the guards are saying that the Kyoshi Warriors were defeated by the fire lord's daughter and her two friends." Chit Sang says hoping to cheer Xiong up. "So Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee took down the Kyoshi Warriors?" Xiong says making sure he heard the news correctly. "Yeah, you know the three of them?" Chit Sang asks looking at Xiong.

"Yeah, me, the three of them, and Prince Zuko were childhood friends. My parents served under General Iroh." Xiong says as he closes his eyes.

The scene changes to the fire nation capital. "Azula, give that back to me." Young Xiong says running after Azula. Azula runs away with a small piece of paper with writing on it. Azula burns the paper to ashes. "Oops, sorry." Azula says sarcastically. "That was given to my by my parents. It houses a protective spirit that protects my family from harm and promotes good luck to the person who holds it." Xiong says as he runs over to the ashes, but the ashes blow away in the wind. "Why don't you hold Ty Lee? Maybe she'll give you good luck." Azula says before laughing. Xiong's face becomes red. "Not funny." Xiong says pouting. "Xiong, your parents are here to see you before they head off with General Iroh." Lady Ursa says from inside a building. "I'm coming." Xiong says running over toward Lady Ursa.

The scene changes back to the boiling rock. "My parents died during the attempt to capture Ba Sing Se. Following their deaths, I enlisted in the fire nation army. My skills with firebending made me an officer. After he returned from the failed assault, General Iroh declared he's leaving the fire nation. He said that my destiny isn't what I take it to be, but as long as I keep an open mind and an open heart, in the end, my destiny will reward me." Xiong says making the impact of the events evident.

"Yeah, Iroh's known for making sense even when it doesn't seem like it." Chit Sang says resting on the floor. A bell rings in the prison. "All prisoners shall return to their cells. All those who resist shall be taken to the coolers." The warden calls from high above the ground. "Talk to you later." Chit Sang says as he separates from Xiong. "Later." Xiong says as he and Chit Sang head to their cells. A guard opens up Xiong's cell and Xiong walks inside. The guard closes the door after Xiong's in and Xiong rests against a wall of his cell and falls asleep.

Several minutes later, a knock is heard on the door and a small door on the door opens up and food slips through and onto the floor. "Chow time, enjoy." The guard says before laughing as he walks to the next cell. Xiong walks over and starts eating the food. Despite his distaste for the food, he keeps eating until there's barely anything left to eat.

Xiong and Chit Sang talk regarding what they will do when they get out from the boiling rock if they do. "Hey Xiong." Chit Sang says looking over at Xiong. "Yeah?" Xiong says interested in what news Chit Sang has overheard this time. "I heard that the Kyoshi Warriors are being brought over today. This is your chance to meet the leader as she'll certainly be transported over here." Chit Sang says with a grin. "This is perfect. I can hopefully show her that I kept my word." Xiong says joyful about this turn of events.

Xiong heads up to where the prisoners are dropped off at and looks around at the new prisoners. He only recognizes Suki, but that's enough for him as he heads back down. He watches from behind the staircase on the base level as the guards lead Suki to her cell. Xiong waits until the guards leave the area around her cell before he heads up to her cell. He looks around to make sure the coast is clear. He knocks on Suki's cell before opening it. "What do you want?" Suki says getting into her battle pose. "I just want to talk." Xiong says closing the door before turning to face Suki. "Xiong? Is that really you? What are you doing here?" Suki says surprised to see Xiong at the boiling rock.

"I was sent here for denouncing the war in public." Xiong says abnormally calm. "I can't believe that you actually stuck to your word. I guess there are a few firebenders that are still good in the world." Suki says smiling. "Yep, does this mean we're friends now?" Xiong says in a low voice so their conversation isn't heard. "Sure, we're friends now. You proven you aren't someone to go back on your word. So what's happened since our fight?" Suki says placing her hand on Xiong's shoulder.

"I met the avatar, distracted the fire nation to allow Aang to escape from them twice, surrendered to delay the fire nation's following of him, got sent here and been here since. How about you?" Xiong says staying against a corner of the wall. "I met this boy Sokka, really enraging with his views on women at first, then got enamored with him, he left when you arrived. Met back up at the Serpent's pass, dealt with a giant snake there, and a fire nation ship. Headed back to Kyoshi Island. Got beaten by the fire lord's daughter and her two friends. Rest of the warriors got sent to other prisons, I got sent here as the leader." Suki says giving Xiong a brief overview over the events that transpired slightly before and after their battle.

"So, do you got any ideas of how to escape from here?" Xiong says as he hopes she has an idea. "Nope, sorry Xiong, we'll just have to wait for someone who can think of an idea." Suki says sadly. "Alright then, if someone like that comes by, let me know and we'll get out of here." Xiong says keeping an upbeat attitude. "Gotcha. You should probably get going. Don't want to get caught by the guards." Suki says as she looks outside the door and sees the coast is clear. "Agreed. Talk to you soon Suki." Xiong says as he opens the door. "See you soon Xiong." Suki says as she stays against the wall of her cell. Xiong closes the door behind him and heads down to the bottom floor.

Xiong and Suki maintain rare but solid occassions of communication. Xiong keeps his head down and his profile low to avoid getting attention drawn to himself.


	5. Flames of Love

The Flames of Love

Several weeks have passed as Xiong maintains his steady line of communication with Chit Sang and Suki. The day that Sokka and Zuko arrive at the boiling rock to see if Hakoda is there, Chit Sang doesn't bow to a high ranking guard. The guard uses a fire whip at Chit Sang and Chit Sang firebends in retaliation. Xiong watches, but doesn't intervene as he knows that it won't do any good for them both to get sent to the coolers. Chit Sang understands this and doesn't get mad as he gets apprehended and sent to a cooler. Following Chit Sang's time in the cooler, he gets pulled out freezing. "Let this be a warning to you. Prisoners do not firebend in the boiling rock." The guard says as Chit Sang gets sent on his way.

Sokka and Zuko knock out two of the guards and take their clothes and helmets. Xiong mops the upper level of the prison. Sokka sneaks into Suki's cell and the two reunite. Xiong sees Chit Sang and heads over to him. "Remind me not to firebend again." Chit Sang says still freezing. "Will do. Try to take it easy for now." Xiong says as he helps Chit Sang to relax.

Xiong heads up to clean up the prisoner drop off point at the time Suki, Zuko, Sokka, and Chit Sang talk about the escape plan using the coolers. "Okay, so that's the plan. Any questions?" Sokka says after he explains the plan. "I need to tell another inmate about this plan. I promised that we'd escape together." Suki says worried. "Who'd you tell that to? What's his name?" Sokka says upset. "Sokka, he said that he met you already when he met Aang. It's Xiong." Suki says upset with Sokka. "Oh yeah, I need to tell him as well." Chit Sang says remembering he promised Xiong as well. "We don't have time, the prison's going to be a lot more alert with the upcoming transport of prisoners. He'll just have to stay here." Sokka says sadly. Suki and Chit Sang look at each other exchanging sad glances with each other. "Hold on, you three know Xiong?" Zuko says surprised with the fact. "Yeah, have you met him yet?" Sokka says as he, Suki, and Chit Sang look at Zuko. "Yeah, me and him are childhood friends. He joined the army following his parents death. It's a surprise that he left." Zuko says explaining his history with Xiong.

"I made a bet with him. If I lost, the island would give up and if I won, he would leave the fire nation. I won and he stuck to his word." Suki says explaining the story to Zuko. "Okay, that makes sense. Xiong was always one to stick to his word." Zuko says not surprised about that fact. "Well, let's just hope the prisoners get released after the war ends." Sokka says upset that he has to leave a good person in such a bad place.

At the time the escape plan is to be carried out, Xiong is eating inside of his cell. Sokka, Zuko, and Suki crawl down the side of the prison wall and look at a gondola that is arriving. "We have to go now." Chit Sang says getting impatient. "Go ahead without us, I have to see if my dad is on this transport." Sokka says anxious and nervous at the same time. "Fine then. Let's go you guys." Chit Sang says as his best friend, girlfriend push the cooler with him before all three hop into the cooler and it begins to drift away from the prison. Sokka, Suki, and Zuko worry if they just let their only chance of escape slip out of their hands for nothing. The three of them watch as the gondola empties out it's prisoners and none of them look like Hakoda. "No." Sokka says depressed. "Prisoner get out here." A guard says at the drop off point. One final prisoner steps off the gondola and it's Hakoda. "Dad." Sokka says happy to see his dad again.

"Welcome to the boiling rock. The most secure prison in the fire nation. No one has escaped from here and I'd rather jump into the boiling lake myself than to see that record fall." The warden says as he walks in front of all the prisoners. The warden sees Hakoda isn't looking at him. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." The warden says to Hakoda. Hakoda keeps his view down. The warden gets angry and lifts up his foot and slams it down on the chains that are connected to the shackles on Hakoda's arms. Hakoda falls down and looks toward the warden's feet. "You want to look at my feet? Then look at them." The warden says smirking. The warden is about to move on, when Hakoda lifts his arm up and the warden stumbles over it. Hakoda grins. "Get them out of my sight." The warden says before storming off. The guards take Hakoda and the other prisoners inside the prison.

Chit Sang gets tired of the slow current and begins to row. The water in the lake splashes and burns his hand. "YEOWWWWW!" Chit Sang yells in pain. The guards locate the cooler. The warden runs over to the edge of the prison closest to the side the drift away cooler. "Get those prisoners and throw them into the cooler." The warden says angrily. "Sir, they are already in a cooler." A guard says stating the obvious. "I MEAN ONE THAT'S BOLTED DOWN. FIRE!" The warden yells. A guard fires a harpoon gun and it hits the side of the cooler closest to the prison. Chit Sang, his girlfriend and his best friend looks scared as the harpoon pulls them back toward the prison.

Xiong hears the scream and heads to the ground around the prison, when he sees Chit Sang inside the cooler he heads back inside before he gets caught as well. Chit Sang gets taken to an interrogation cell as Sokka talks with his dad. Xiong bumps into Suki. "Suki, what happened?" Xiong says worried. "Sokka had planned an escape plan using a cooler. Chit Sang got wind and blackmailed us to include him. Sokka, me, and Zuko stayed behind as Chit Sang took the cooler to see if the gondola had Sokka's dad. Sokka's dad was on the gondola, but the plan failed. Sorry about not telling you about it, we didn't have time." Suki says explaining the events, sounding sad at the end. "It's alright, it was for the best that you guys tried to get off. Any other ideas of how to get off of here?" Xiong says forgiving Suki, and focusing on the task at hand.

"Sokka said that if anyone can figure a way off the rock, it'd be his father. The two of them are talking right now. You didn't tell me that you are Zuko are childhood friends." Suki says admiring Xiong's optimism. "You didn't ask, how do you know him?" Xiong says looking around to make sure they aren't spotted. "I just met him during the explanation of the previous escape plan.

Back in Hakoda's cell. "Dad, Prince Zuko and apparently Xiong are both here." Sokka says happily. "Wow, sounds like a major problem." Hakoda says worried and not understanding his son's happiness. "Don't worry, they are both on our side. Xiong in fact allowed me, Aang and Katara to escape from the fire nation by distracting them. Aang said he saved him twice in two days." Sokka says explaining his happiness. "Wow, glad to have them aboard." Hakoda says relieved. "Me, Suki, and Zuko had a plan to escape, but some other prisoners got involved and it went wrong." Sokka says depressed. "Don't worry. I'm sure that two genius watertribesman can think of a way out of this." Hakoda says meaning Sokka and himself. "I hope we can meet two...oh." Sokka says before getting the idea.

Back in the interrogation cell. "Are you comfortable Chit Sang?" The warden says to Chit Sang. "If you are trying to get me to squeal, I won't do it." Chit Sang says getting the purpose instantly. "I was just asking you if you are comfortable." The warden says trying to get Chit Sang to drop his guard. "Yeah, very." Chit Sang says falling for it. The warden flips over the chair Chit Sang's in. "Are you comfortable now?" The warden says angrily. "I won't spill the beans." Chit Sang replies honorably. "Flip him, the blood will get to him and he'll squeal." The warden says to two guards as he heads out. The guards nod and do what they are told to do.

Several minutes later, the warden returns to the interrogation cell that Chit Sang's in. The guards have him hanging upside down in the air. "Drop him, he's ready to talk." The warden says smiling. The guards flip Chit Sang back up right and slam the chair onto the ground. "I know you aren't smart enough to think of this plan yourself. Who is the mastermind?" The warden says anxious for the answer. "It's someone dressed as a guard, but he's not a guard." Chit Sang says sad for spilling the beans. "Put this base on lock down. No one leaves until we find the impersonator." The warden says to a guard. The guard nods and sends out an alarm, and all the prisoners return to their cells.

At the drop off point, the guards are all lined up, including Sokka and Zuko. "One of you is an imposter and this prisoner will point that imposter out and they'll be in a lot of trouble." The warden says scowling. Chit Sang walks up and both Sokka and Zuko gets scared. Chit Sang looks among the guards and sees both Sokka and Zuko. "That's the imposter, this one right here." Chit Sang says pointing to the guard that he has a grudge against. "What, he's lying." The guard says protesting. "Take him to the interrogation cell. We'll get the truth out of him." The warden says as two other guards apprehend the guard Chit Sang pointed out and drags him toward the interrogation cell. "This prison will remain on lockdown until I say otherwise." The warden says as he walks off. The guards resume to their posts.

At the interrogation cell, the warden interrogates the guard. "I told you, I am not a traitor." The guard says in the chair. "You can't fool me. The cooler you threw Chit Sang into is the same one that he used to nearly escape." The warden says unphased. "That's just a coincidence." The guard says trying to prove his innocence. "He's not the guy." Azula says from behind the warden. "Who is interrupting my interrogation?" The warden says before turning around. The warden sees Mai, Ty Lee and Azula. "Oh, fire lord's daughter. Didn't know you made a visit. How do you know he's not the impersonator?" The warden says regretfully. "Let's just say, I'm a people person." Azula says grinning.

At the controls for the cells, Sokka approaches the guard. "Hey, the warden wants all the prisoners outside." Sokka tells the guard. "B-but we're still in lockdown." The guard replies confused. "Oh, okay. I'll tell the warden you said that. What's your name again?" Sokka says aiming to use the guard's fear. "Oh, sorry. I'm just a little confused." The guard says a bit embarrassed. "So am I, but the warden is upset and isn't thinking clearly, but I can't argue with him." Sokka says shrugging his shoulders. The guard releases all the prisoners and Suki, Sokka, Hakoda, and Zuko meet up in the courtyard. "Okay, what's the plan?" Suki says looking over at Sokka. "Simple start a riot and in the havoc, take a hostage and head to the gondola and make our escape." Sokka says.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Xiong says from the top of the wall. "Xiong." Zuko, Suki, and Sokka say simultaneously. Xiong jumps off the wall, does a flip in midair and lands near them. "Oh, this is Xiong. Never expected him to be so young." Hakoda says impressed and surprised. "Hey, I'm only 18. I'm old enough to kick butt." Xiong says offended. "Sorry, so what is it you'll be doing Xiong?" Hakoda says apologizing. "I'll be at the gondola controls waiting for you all with the hostage." Xiong says before heading off. "About the hostage, the warden would just have the men cut the line no matter who we take hostage." Hakoda says bringing up a problem. "Not if the warden is the hostage." Sokka says gleaming with pride. "Gotcha, but how do we start the riot?" Zuko says worried. "Leave that to me." Hakoda says as he gets up. He finds the biggest, strongest and baddest inmate, runs over and pushes him.

"Hey that hurt." The inmate says offending. "Don't you want to fight?" Hakoda says confused. "Normally, I would, but I've been learning to control my temper." The inmate says relaxed. "That didn't work." Hakoda says as he heads back over to the group. "You're lucky I didn't turn you in back there. I know you have another escape planned and I want in." Chit Sang says walking over. The warden steps out onto the third level balcony, looks down and sees the prisoners are outside of their cells. "Who let the prisoners out? We are on lockdown." The warden says angrily as he looks around for the guard who let them out. The guard that let the prisoners out, who happens to be on the same level as the warden, tiptoes away to the corner before running away.

"We are commencing the escape plan right now, can you start a riot?" Sokka says looking up to Chit Sang with a smile. "Please." Chit Sang says walking away before picking up a smaller inmate. "Hey. Riot." Chit Sang says moving the inmate up and down over his head. "Forget controlling my anger, let's riot." The inmate Hakoda pushed says before getting tackled. "There, now to get the warden and get out of here." Sokka says as Suki runs off to do just that. "I think you're girlfriend's about to do that." Hakoda says pointing to Suki, who's running on the heads of the inmates. Sokka, Zuko, Chit Sang, and Hakoda maneuver through the rioting crowd to catch up to Suki.

Suki runs and grabs the edge of the second level balcony and climbs up. She trips one of the guards and flips the other one. She runs and climbs up the wall beneath the third level balcony before doing a half a flip, catching a pipe beneath the third level balcony with her feet. She swings on the pipe with her feet before landing on the edge of the railing of the third level balcony before dropping onto the actual balcony. She runs and trips the only guard on the balcony and slides toward the warden. The warden sees Suki and makes a fist with his right hand ready to fire bend at her. Suki gets up and has her body to the left of the warden's extended right arm with her arm to the warden's face.

"You wouldn't dare." The warden says looking at Suki. Suki wraps a cloth around the warden's arms before turning around the fire nation headpiece he is wearing and turns it into a way to keep him quiet. "Sorry warden, you're now my prisoner. The warden's captured, let's go to the gondola." Suki says as Zuko, Chit Sang, Hakoda and Sokka arrive at the third level balcony. "That's some girl you have there Sokka." Hakoda says panting heavily from the run. "Tell me about it." Sokka says happily as he pants from exhaustion.

Sokka, Zuko, Suki, Hakoda, Chit Sang, and the captured warden go to the gondolas and see all the guards are knocked out. They see Xiong at the gondola controls. "What took you guys so long?" Xiong says rather impatient. "Had to start a riot then keep up with Suki." Sokka says still tired. "Okay, hop on. Zuko, Mai's here, we both know what that means. She's in a cell right now." Xiong says sad at the end. "Azula and Ty Lee are also here." Zuko says becoming on guard. "Good, I was hoping for a rematch." Suki says anxious as the group head into the gondola, Chit Sang carrying the warden on his shoulder. Once all but Xiong are on the gondola, Chit Sang sets the warden down on the floor. Xiong pushes the gondola lever forward all the way before firebending enough to melt the lever. He then jumps toward the gondola. Zuko grabs his hand and pulls him up.

The group looks to the exit, other than the warden and Xiong. Xiong sees Ty Lee running along the gondola's wire with Azula behind her, losing her balance every now and then. "We have company." Xiong says as Zuko, Sokka, and Suki climb onto the top of the gondola and fight Azula and Ty Lee. Xiong keeps his eyes on the prison. The warden breaks out of his restraints and uncover his mouth. "CUT THE ROPE!" The warden yells before Chit Sang and Hakoda tackle him.

"What did he say?" One guard asks. "He said he wants us to cut the rope." Another guard says. "But if we do that, he'll drop into the boiling lake." The guard says surprised and moderately shocked. "He knows that. Cut the rope." The guard says as two guards arrive with a two person saw to cut the rope. Xiong sees the guards cutting the rope before he heads to the front of the gondola and sees that they won't make it, but before he can say that, the gondola shakes and all the people on it fall down. "They are about to cut the rope." Ty Lee says to Azula. "Then it's time we left." Azula says as a gondola heading to the prison passes by. Both Azula and Ty Lee and jump over to it.

The guards are getting close to cutting the rope when one of them gets pinned to a wall by stilletos. Mai runs up and pins the other one to the floor before she gets surrounded. She starts to fight the guards as Azula and Ty Lee watch the fight from the approaching gondola. "What is Mai thinking?" Azula asks and Ty Lee shrugs her shoulders in response. Mai eventually gives up and is apprehended by one of the guards. "Why did you do that Mai?" Azula says as she and Ty Lee walk up to Mai. "You aren't as in control as you think you are. Truth is, I love Zuko more than I fear you." Mai says as she looks at Azula. "You should've feared me more." Azula says angrily as she starts to firebend at Mai. Ty Lee strikes Azula at several chi points and she falls to the ground. "Come on let's go." Ty Lee says as she pulls Mai's arm, Mai being surprised by what just happened. Both Mai and Ty Lee are taken. "What do we do with them fire lord?" One guard asks. "Take them to the deepest, darkest cell and leave them there to rot." Azula says still being held up by guards.

Xiong looks down and sees Ty Lee and Mai opposing Azula. The gondola approaches the other end of the cable when Xiong climbs up onto the roof. "What are you doing? We are nearly there." Sokka calls up to him. "I'm going back, this could be my only chance to tell Ty Lee how I've felt all those years as children." Xiong says as he prepares to jump over to a gondola heading to the prison. Sokka gets ready to speak, when Suki covers his mouth with her hand. "Okay, good luck to you with that and hopefully after we end this war, you and her will be released along with Mai." Suki says smiling. "Thanks, see you later." Xiong says as he jumps over to the other gondola.

Ty Lee and Mai have a long silence with Azula before the guards begin to take them away. Xiong runs toward the prison before jumping off the gondola. "Not so fast." Xiong calls down as he falls down, knocking the guards holding Mai and Ty Lee before all three of them are captured. "Xiong, why did you come back?" Ty Lee says surprised by him coming back to a prison. "I came back to tell you how I felt toward you all those years as kids. I love you Ty Lee. I know you have someone else in your heart, but I just had to tell you that." Xiong says as his face turns red. Ty Lee's face becomes red from blushing. "Good, now you two can be together and rot together." Azula says laughing some.

Xiong, Mai, and Ty Lee get taken to a cell far down in the prison. "What took you so long to say that?" Ty Lee says as she looks at Xiong in the cell. "It would've been weird and gross to say it as a kid, then when I was old enough to where it didn't seem so weird, I had enlisted in the fire nation army to continue my parents' service. Then after I left, it wouldn't have meant as much as we'd be enemies. So I had to wait until we were allies before I can say it and not have it as a means of deception." Xiong says explaining himself. "That's so gross." Mai says being left out of the conversation up until now. "Oh yeah, we should wait until we get out of here to actually have a kiss, so we don't make Mai jealous." Xiong says embarrassed by leaving her out. "Not like I care." Mai says blushing a bit. "Okay then, but I'd rather it be a memorable first kiss, not here, hopefully after the war ends the way it should." Xiong says being slightly romantic.


End file.
